It was a tough session for Tata Motors, off 3.44% to Rs 861.50, as 3 lakh shares were traded on the market. Other major decliners from the Sensex stocks included ACC declining 2.95% to Rs 1,100, Hindalco losing 2.86% to Rs 178.15 and Hindustan Lever shedding 2.75% to Rs 233.75.

Reliance Communication slipped 2.30% to Rs 445.85, while Index heavy Reliance Industries shed 2.68% to Rs 1,265.90, on a volume of 11.20 lakh shares. State Bank of India dipped 0.31% to Rs 1,342. stating that it plans to start operations in Israel by March 2007 and also is keen to enter Pakistan. NTPC lost 0.46% to Rs 151, following Merrill Lynch improving the price target on the stock.

Metal shares continued their downward trend on BSE. Tata Steel slipped 2.54% to Rs 479, Sterlite Industries lost 3.13% to Rs 553, Maharashta Seamless slid 2.76% to Rs 448.90, Jindal Steel & Power declined 3.57% to Rs 2,130, JSW Steel was off 2.13% to Rs 329.25. UTV Software dipped 5.32% to Rs 262.60, although it bought two gaming companies, one in India and another in the UK.

Indian Oil Corporation, the largest refiner in India, declined 2.42% to Rs 435.05. The are reports that the company acquired a 12.5% stake in the trans-Anatolian Pipeline Company, which is constructing a pipeline from Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan.

Mahindra & Mahindra shed 2.23% to Rs 828, following its statement on Friday that group company Mahindra Engineering & Chemical Company had sold its cable accessories division to 3M Electro & Communication India.


9:45AM Stocks opened modestly higher, boosted by employment report.
Stocks opened modestly higher Friday amid easing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. The long awaited employment report brought some relief to the market as the Labor Department said 132,000 jobs were created in November, greater than the expected increase of 105,000. Unemployment ticked up to 4.5%. However, sharply higher oil prices and weaker dollar limited gains.

In corporate news, Xilinx (XLNX: chart) dropped 5.9% after the chip maker lowered its Q3 earnings forecast, pointing to unexpected weakness in its business. Yum Brands Inc. (YUM: chart) fell 2.6% amid growing concern about an outbreak of E. coli in some of its restaurants. Wachovia cut its rating on the company to Market Perform from Outperform. 3M Co. (MMM: chart) weighed, falling 2% after Prudential downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight, citing valuation. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: chart) fell 0.5% after it agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle charges related to the spy scandal. At the same time, shares in Oracle Corp (ORCL: chart) gained 0.7% after late Thursday the company raised by 42% its bid for India''s i-Flex Solutions shares. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.05, or 0.11%, at 12,291.46. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was up 2.40, or 0.17%, at 1,409.69, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 4.97, or 0.20%, at 2,432.66.


9:30AM The FTSE 100 was lower on Friday due to weak mining stocks.
The FTSE 100 in London was fractionally lower 0.07% at 6,128 in afternoon trading.

Advancers

The newspaper and education publisher, Pearson, made steady gains on the back of reports that private equity bidders are circling the group. There was also some talk of interest in its French daily, Les Echos. Pearson was up 1.33%.

Imperial Chemical Industries was also higher 2.04% on reports of a possible tie-up with Holland''s Akzo Nobel following the sale of its Quest business.

Shares in Yoomedia surged 40% following news that it had agreed to provide some of its most popular games for BT new next-generation TV service, BT Vision.

UK high street bank Barclays was up, 1.49% for a second day as reports of a possible bid from Bank of America refuse to go away. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB were also higher, 0.31% and 1.00% respectively.

Swedish healthcare equipment firm Getinge has agreed to purchase Huntleigh Technology Getinge offer helped shares in Huntleigh zoom 26.93%.

Decliners

The mining sector was in the red after Merrill Lynch lowered the sector to neutral on worries about a slowdown in the global economy. The broker downgraded Antofagasta and Kazakhmys to sell and lowered BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata to neutral. Antofagasta dipped 5.14%, Kazakhmys slipped 3.93%, BHP Billiton was off 2.98%, Rio Tinto declined 2.17% and Xstrata declined 2.61%.

Benson & Hedges producer Gallaher also lost despite Citigroup upgrading the shares to hold” from sell in the wake of news of the takeover approach. Gallaher shed 2.52%.